Stealing photos....

[mailonfurs]

I think we had one similar discussion before like that. But this time it differs a little. I've seen posts at a Russian auction website where my items were sold using my photos! Of course the items were not mine (not sure if they even existed) but they were using my photos.

 

Not only that, but when we tried to contact the seller was extremely offensive and rude, while using my photos. Finally the site admins removed the photos and I found my - temporary - peace of mind.

 

But now I am trying to find ways to secure my site photos.

I am thinking of placing a watermark to them but it is not a good solution I think cause it destroys the photos... Another solution I can across are someHTML Encryption tools.

 

Anyway, if any of you ever come across with any of our photos to other auctions sites etc please make sure to contact me at once. I would really appreciate it.

[White Fox]

Finally people on the internet are realizing this problem and they are beginning to deal with it. As you mentioned, photos are your property, and as such should NEVER be posted on other sites without permission. The fact that someone would be rude while using them is even worse.

 

I do know that there are a few technical solutions here or coming, but I have no idea if or how well they work.

 

However, if anyone should ever see a photo of theirs in our Gallery that was posted without your permission , you only need let us know and we will remove it immediately!

 

W

[Worker 11811]

There are three main methods to protect your copyright works on the internet:

 

1) Encryption. -- Make it so that only the people you give permission to can see the content.

 

2) Watermarking. -- Put your logo or the name of your company into the picture/content.

 

3) "Jujitsu." -- Create your content in such a way that the mere sight of your content leads the viewer back to your website or business.

 

Fail that, you must assume that anything you put onto the internet can be "borrowed" at any time without your knowledge. Basically, you have to understand that, no matter how hard you try to keep others from using your work without your permission they will find a way to take it.

 

That's where the idea of Jujitzu comes in... You use your opponent's own actions to defeat him... In other words, you assume that your work WILL be used so, when it is, you make sure that everybody knows that it's your work and that you get credit for it. You may even think of ways to channel web traffic back to your own website where viewers can be exposed to your product, hopefully causing them to buy your product.

 

Maybe it would be something as simple as having a backdrop made up with your company's logo on it.

 

This would be a VERY good example of multimedia Jujitsu:

 

(Click the pic!)

 

Don't you get thirsty just LOOKING at that picture?

 

Finally, if you want to go the watermarking route, you could try Digimarc:

 

http://digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/default.asp

 

It's a pay service but, using Photoshop, you can put an INVISIBLE electronic watermark into your pictures and, if that electronic watermark is detected on the internet, anywhere besides your site, the company will warn you.

 

I think the first tier of service costs like $99.00 per year.

[mailonfurs]

Thanx!

I was talking with my photographer the idea to put our logo as a real background behind the photos. Still this would only secure me for the upcoming photos and not the already existing ones.

[Worker 11811]

If you display a photo on the internet, no matter HOW WELL you try to protect it, there will be somebody who will figure out a way to take it.

 

This is just a fact of life.

 

You could encrypt it so that nobody except the people you give permission to will be able to see it but that doesn't do your business any good. You want EVERYBODY to see it. You publish pictures to sell your goods. If people can't see your pictures, they won't buy your goods.

 

Sorry to say it, you're just going to have to accept a certain amount of this as a cost of doing business.

 

There are tricks you can use to make it harder for people to download your pictures but they can be circumvented.

 

You can put a one-pixel transparent GIF in an overlay above your image so that when people click on your picture they get "nothing" in the resultant download.

 

But, if a person is smart enough to read your HTML source, they can easily figure that out.

 

You can use Java or Flash to hide the actual URL location of your photos and make it more difficult to download them but a smart user can go to the browser's image cache and access the data directly.

 

Finally, you might figure out a way to protect your pictures six ways from next Sunday but a wise user can just take a screen shot and save the result.

 

Yes, you can make it HARDER for people to steal your pictures but it's probably not possible to have pictures that are both theft proof and visible to the public, at large.

 

The BEST thing you can do is "brand" your pictures so that every time somebody sees one, they see the name "Mailon Furs" and a URL Link back to your site.

 

Think of your pictures as "electronic business cards" which you spread around the internet, in hopes that somebody will pick one up and come to your website to buy something.

[Lucifur]

This is a slippery slope. On one hand, I completely understand your concern about people using your content on their sites, but on the other hand, (and this is coming from the point of view of a guy who doesn't sell furs, but just likes fur and pictures/videos/etc. of beautiful women in fur) the harder you make it to grab images off your site, the more likely I am to either not visit that site, or figure out how to get them, even if it's a simple screencap. Watermarking them with your company logo or website URL is a good idea, as long as it doesn't obscure the actual pictures (the backdrop idea is a good one)

 

BTW, Mailon, you have some of the most incredible pictures of gorgeous ladies/furs out there. Keep up the good work

[ReFur]

This is why many have gone to flash video. Not sure that is even safe now. Many of the manufacturing sites also limit access for this reason.

[Worker 11811]

Flash is BY NO MEANS more secure!

 

However, if you want a secure QuickTime video, you can do that.

You can make encrypted QuickTime videos such that only a specific person can play them back. You can make them so that they are viewable only for a specific time period. You can make them so that they are only viewable for a certain number of times. (viewings) You can make them so that they are viewable but not savable. There are many ways to use the media encryption features of QuickTime.

 

PLUS the quality is about 100 times better. QuickTime doesn't drop frames because the connection is too slow. QuickTime doesn't lock up your computer if the download takes too long.

 

The same encryption technology that QuickTime uses to protect videos is the basis for the technology used in protecting iTunes music downloads.

 

It's secure enough to keep out all but the most determined hackers.

It's easy enough to use that virtually anybody can use it.

It's transparent enough that, once it's been set up on your computer, you can play songs and movies without anybody noticing that it's there.

 

Anybody who thinks Flash is more secure than QuickTime is full of baloney!

 

If you want to know more about securing on-line media (specifically movies but many of the same principles apply to pictures) you should check out this website:

 

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/QuickTime/QT4WebPage/samplechap/special-8.html

 

It covers virtually everything we've already talked about.